The Mayor of Accra, Michael Kpakpo Allotey, on Wednesday, June 11, paid a working visit to six Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) centres within the metropolis to motivate candidates and assure them of the assembly’s support as they transition to senior high school.

The centres visited include the Rev. Thomas Clegg Basic School, Kaneshie Kingsway Cluster of Schools, Ministry of Health Basic School, St. Mary’s R/C Basic School, John Wesley Methodist School, and Bishop Mixed School.

At each centre, Mayor Allotey addressed candidates, urging them to trust in their preparation and God, while firmly discouraging reliance on leaked examination questions, popularly known as ‘apor’.

“At every centre I’ve visited today, I have advised the students not to concentrate on ‘apor’…It will mislead them. You can never be sure what you’ll see on the paper.

The only thing that will see them through is their hard work and the grace of God,” he told the media after his tour.

At Rev. Thomas Clegg Basic School, the Mayor encouraged candidates to believe in God and have confidence in the knowledge they had acquired.

At Kaneshie Kingsway Cluster of Schools, he reinforced his call to reject any form of cheating and promised, “By the special grace of God, if all of you pass your exams, I will try and fix the park there for you.”

Similarly, at the Ministry of Health Basic School in Korle Bu, he commended the students’ enthusiasm and reminded them to “believe in God and themselves”, adding that with God, all things are possible.”

At Bishop Mixed School, he pledged a scholarship package for every student who will pass the examination.

In an interaction with the media, the Metro Director of Education, Mrs Justine Ivy Apawu, disclosed that 5,784 candidates were sitting for the BECE within the Accra Metropolitan area: 2,363 boys and 3,421 girls, noting that the number of female candidates surpassed that of the males.

She added that all necessary logistics for the smooth conduct of the examination were delivered on time. She also cautioned against malpractice, stressing that “WAEC has ensured that Centre A’s questions are different from Centre B’s, and even within the same classroom, no two candidates have the same set of questions.”

Nationwide, a total of 603,328 candidates, 297,250 boys and 306,078 girls are participating in the 2025 BECE, representing a 5.99% increase from the previous year’s figure of 569,236.

The candidates will be writing two papers daily, with subjects including English Language, Mathematics, Science, Ghanaian Language, Social Studies, Religious and Moral Education, Creative Arts and Design, and Career Technology.

This year’s batch is the first expected to benefit from the Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy under the new administration.